Human umbilical cord tissue allograft may treat cartilage degeneration, hip OA
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Key takeaways:
- Wharton’s jelly tissue allografts, which are made from human umbilical cord tissue, may improve outcomes for hip osteoarthritis.
- Wharton’s jelly may be an alternative option to other standard of care methods.
Use of cryopreserved human umbilical cord tissue, known as Wharton’s jelly, may be an alternative treatment for tissue regeneration in patients with hip cartilage defects and osteoarthritis, according to published results.
Albert Lai, MD, medical director at Desert Physical Medicine and Pain Management in Indio, California, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed data from 69 patients (mean age, 74.5 years) who failed standard treatment for hip cartilage degeneration and OA. All patients received at least one application of 2 mL of 75 mg/mL Wharton’s jelly tissue allograft (Protext, Regenerative Labs), procured from human umbilical cord tissue, which contains growth factors such as collagen, cytokines, proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid.
Lai and colleagues assessed outcomes such as numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores and WOMAC index at 30-day and 90-day follow-up visits. According to the study, 13 patients received a second allograft application of Wharton’s jelly and had follow-up visits at 120 days and 180 days. In addition, patients were instructed to continue physical therapy strengthening and range of motion exercises but to avoid strenuous activity.
Overall, Lai and colleagues found 44.9% of patients exceeded the minimal clinically important difference for WOMAC index and 78.3% of patients experienced positive improvement of at least one unit in WOMAC index. They found patients who received one application had a 31.36% improvement in NRS pain scores at 90 days, while patients who received two applications had a 44.64% improvement in NRS pain scores at 180 days.
“Provided there have been no reported adverse reactions related to the tissue allografts within the span of the retrospective repositories beginning, [Wharton’s jelly] WJ allografts should be considered as a safe regenerative medicine option for individuals suffering from tissue degeneration refractory to other standard of care methods,” Lai and colleagues wrote in the study.
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